Tim Elliott

The iconic Kenshin Okubo photograph of Boston bombing victim James Costello and (inset) how The Daily Telegraph used it. Photo: AP

The Daily Telegraph editor Paul Whittaker has apologised unreservedly for using the image of a Boston bombing victim to illustrate a story about the resignation of Fairfax columnist Mike Carlton.

As part of a two-page spread on Carlton's resignation, the newspaper superimposed his face and an Arab headdress onto an Associated Press image of Boston bombing victim James Costello staggering away from the blast site, badly burned, his clothes in tatters.

“The Photoshopped image was an amalgam of different images put together during the art production process,” Whittaker told Guardian Australia.

“I was unaware that that particular image had been partially used. It is an inadvertent but regrettable mistake for which The Daily Telegraph apologises unreservedly.”

On Thursday, the Telegraph's decision to devote two full pages to the story prompted a strong reaction on social media.

Former News Corp columnist George Megalogenis tweeted: “Real bottom line here is #vendettajournalism doesn't sell papers. Time to get back to news.”

Another tweeted: “@DailyTelegraph depicted a Boston bombing victim as a 'terrorist'. They think it's funny”.

Others questioned Whittaker’s judgement in using a victim of terrorism as a prop to attack a commercial rival.

“Has [Whittaker] announced his resignation yet?” asked another.

Carlton said the newspaper had “scraped the very bottom of the sewer here. Using a photo of a victim of a terrorist attack for your own purposes really is about as low as it gets”.

When asked by the Herald if he stood by his apology, Whittaker said “yes”. He declined to explain how he could be “unaware” of his newspaper’s use of the famous photo of Costello, which made front pages around the world in 2013.